Maintaining your balance in a sleek racing kayak is tough enough when you're a young able-bodied paddler. Trying to stay upright on the water in one of those things, when you're paralzyed from the chest down and digging hard for a finish line, is a whole other challenge altogether.Trudy Ferguson
/ Reader Photo

Maintaining your balance in a sleek racing kayak is tough enough when you're a young able-bodied paddler.

Trying to stay upright on the water in one of those things, when you're paralzyed from the chest down and digging hard for a finish line, is a whole other challenge altogether.

For James Telep of Pitt Meadows, a crucial loss of balance 15 metres from the finish line at Burnaby Lake on Friday, cost him the opportunity to go to next month's Paracanoe World Championships in Pozman, Poland.

Telep, who broke his back 14 years ago in a snowboarding jump gone wrong at Hemlock Valley, is one of a couple of dozen Canadians active in a relatively new competition sport that will make its Paralympic debut in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 2016.

Telep, 33, needed to go under one minute, 10.10 seconds for 200 metres at CanoeKayak Canada's paracanoe team trials on Friday. He appeared to be on track for that until he came to a near stop just before the finish line, shifting gingerly in his specially designed seat and then forced to basically coast across the line. His time? A heartbreaking 1:13.00, especially considering he has previously gone 1:06.

"Lost my balance, was about to go in the water for a swim, that's why I had to kinda stop," Telep said later on the dock as he laughed half-heartedly. "It slowed me right down. That's the two seconds that I needed, right. It's just silly.

"It's very frustrating, but nothing you can do about it. Just be better for next year. Practice, practice, practice."

Given the opportunity that had just slipped through his hands, it was an admirable show of composure. But perhaps not unexpected from a married father of two youngsters who has conquered his visible disability with an internal motor seemingly powered by a bionic hamster on a turning wheel.

"Slowed me down, hasn't stopped me none," he says with a big grin of the snowboard accident. "I'm one of those guys who's just always go, go, go. I over do it. Not enough time for the amount that I have on the books. Story of my life."

He runs an electrical contracting company for a friend, has a StickFix franchise, which repairs composite hockey sticks, and is a partner with fellow paraplegic paddler Kevin Priebe in Adaptive Seating Products. He and Priebe designed and built their own kayak seats and have a prototype sit-ski they're testing.

"I just love building stuff, re-invent the wheel with our little company there."

It was in the summer of 2010 when he was encouraged to take part in a PaddleAll program at the Pitt Meadows Rowing Club. He had done some white-water kayaking as a teen and some canoeing while a junior forest warden. Being back on the water was a catharsis.

"After day one out there, I was sold. Being on the water vs. being in the gym? I'd rather be on the water any day of the week.

"It's a lifestyle, a de-stresser. I will never stop doing it. It's been a life-changing thing for me."

One significant benefit was that it helped his carpal tunnel syndrome.

"It was real bad, to the point where at the end of the day, they were curled up like this," he says, holding his hands to his chest. "It hurt so bad. Through kayaking, within three weeks my carpal is gone. So I have to do this for health sake."

There are three classifications in paracanoe — LTA, which is for athletes with leg, trunk and arm mobility; TA for those with trunk and arm mobility and A, for those like Telep with arm mobility only.

He began paddling with a pontoon on one side of his kayak for balance. Last year, at a camp in Florida, the Canadian coaching staff encouraged he and others to ditch the pontoons. It's made him faster, but balancing is even more precarious.

On Wednesday, during an assessment session on the Alouette River, he tipped over and "froze to the core" while clutching on to the boat for a 10-minute pull back to the dock.

"Love of the sport, I was back on the water the next day."

A belt that wraps around his stomach and attaches to his seat keeps him upright in the kayak.

"It's the only thing keeping me from falling forward on my face. Once you get over too far, there's no pulling back. I don't have the [core] muscles. The balance is a major challenge."

Canada, which organized the first conference for paddlers with a disability in 2008, has been one of the nations leading the paracanoe movement. Christine Gauthier of Pointe-Claire, Que. in K1 LTA and Christine Selinger of Regina in V1 LTA are two-time reigning world champions and posted times well under the qualifying standard on Friday.

"In 2012, '13, '14, we're going to be ramping up these standards because we want Canada to be competitive in this sport [at the 2016 Paralympics]," says John Edwards, Canoe Kayak Canada's domestic development director. "The best house has a strong foundation."

Despite Friday's setback, Telep remains determined to be a medal threat in 2016.

"That is the drive. I know I have a few years to get everything together and make it my reality."

gkingston@vancouversun.com

Comments

We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page for more information.

Almost Done!

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.